nia

Provision of services for women, children and young people who have experienced gender based violence

Working to end violence against women and girls.

nia achieves its aims through the following strategic objectives

Provision of high quality and cutting edge services

Empowering women and children to reach their potential

Increasing awareness, developing services, contributing to research and policy

Challenging inequality and discrimination, and celebrating diversity

Increasing and developing the effectiveness of resources through partnership and collaboration

Their services include:

The Emma Project: London’s only refuge for women who use substances problematically and who have experienced gender based violence including prostitution, domestic and sexual violence

East London Rape Crisis Service: Offering advocacy, support and counselling after rape, sexual assault and childhood sexual abuse

Independent Domestic Violence Advocacy Service : A quality accredited IDVA service supporting women who have been identified as “high risk” of domestic violence

Safe Choices: A range of services which reduce and prevent young women’s violent offending and risk of sexual exploitation and/or violence

Sexual Violence Prevention: Schools and youth focused work which helps young people identify and avoid sexually exploitative bullying and behaviour

Family Support: Practical support and advocacy for mothers/carers who have experienced domestic violence to best meet their children’s needs

IRIS: Improving the quality of care given by GP surgeries to women experiencing domestic violence. IRIS at nia includes a partnership delivering a national implementation programme and local delivery in Hackney

nia’s role in the consortium

nia is part of the following strands:

Specialist Refuge Network: The Emma Project is a unique refuge and outreach service for women who have experienced domestic and sexual violence and who also use substances problematically.

We offer a high and specialist level of staffing which means that we are able to work with women who still use drugs and/or alcohol problematically; this is essential because leaving a violent relationship is a time of crisis and for many women this is not the best time to address substance use issues effectively. Most other refuges require women to be drug free to use the service. Our aim is to provide a safe place that accepts women as they are whilst supporting them to identify goals and find ways of moving forward and away from the multiple harms they live with.

We also help agencies supporting women with problematic substance use to better meet their needs and provide training on violence against women and problematic substance use.